Remembering six million brothers, sisters and former VP Hubert H. Humphrey

בסייד

It was a moving experience listening to those wailing sirens for two full minutes as Israel came to a standstill Thursday morning. This is the 25^th consecutive time I have heard those sirens on Holocaust Remembrance Day and every year it becomes more meaningful.

No words can satisfactorily describe the feeling I get while those sirens blare. There is a deep sense of sadness when I think about all lives that were lost, just because my brothers and sisters were born Jewish. Those innocent human beings were slaughtered for no other reason.

In my previous Blogs, I often refer to watching newsreel after newsreel with my Dad about WWII. That was the education I received growing up about the Holocaust. We were fortunate to not have any family members that were killed by the Nazis. It seems my immediate family escaped from Europe and Russia many years before the modern-day versions of Amalek rose to power.

Watching Newsreels Is Not The Same As Actually Being Here To Speak With Holocaust Survivors

I watched many newsreels with my Dad covering the vast majority of WWII. Dad was interested in finding out why the Nazis gained so much power that almost resulted in their goal of a “Final Solution” being realized. The barbarism of the Nazis made it seem that Germany and its people had lost all sense of common decency. No human being deserved to be treated that way. The Nazi propaganda machine had been cranking out Anti-Semitic rubbish for many years prior and the general German population fell for it.

With no close relatives to speak with about the Holocaust, I learned much more from close relatives of the Holocaust victims when I lived in Johannesburg and here in Israel. Combining that with the times I visited Yad VaShem in Jerusalem allowed me to see first- hand all the suffering Jews had to go through.

We Will Never Forget Those Six Million Jews Killed At The Hands Of The Nazis                                                                                        

And I Will Never Forget Hubert H. Humphrey’s Legacy — With World Focus Now On Minneapolis

The irony for me about today’s Holocaust Remembrance Day is that now I am living in Israel while international attention is on the George Floyd trial taking place a few blocks away from the Minneapolis Flour Exchange Building where I once worked.

I previously mentioned I worked for IS Joseph Company located on one of the Flour Exchange’s upper floors. The CEO was Burton Joseph who was married to Gerrie Joseph, one of Humphrey’s main speechwriters. While working, I was asked to enter Mr. Joseph’s office to assist with various tasks and I clearly remember some of the pictures proudly displayed on his office walls of Humphrey attending various meetings and political conventions. Mrs. Joseph also appeared.

Many of those convention pictures could have been taken at the 1948 Democratic Convention I have written about previously when Hubert Humphrey gave a strong speech urging Democrats to embrace the move toward Civil Rights. That speech helped propel Humphrey to national attention resulting in his election as a Minnesota Senator.

The Democrats Have Erased Humphrey’s Legacy From Their Party

Very little mention has been made of Hubert Humphrey by the Democratic Party during the past few years. And it is easy to see why as their support for Israel has all but vanished thanks to the Biden Administration. Humphrey was a strong Israel supporter and met with many lawmakers in Israel. He had a special relationship with Golda Meir.

Hubert Humphrey also played a major role in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He stood with Martin Luther King when LBJ signed it into legislation.

We Must Always Remember Hubert H. Humphrey’s Contribution To Israel And The Civil Rights Movement